My Type-A perfectionist personality welcomes any and all opportunities to make my daily life more simple. Since the concept behind this 31 Days to Whole is to remove the stigma of food and restore some emotional balance to my universe when it comes to food, setting some realistic goals is a must.

I have spent the last month thinking about these things and praying that I am on the right path in addressing them. You will notice weight loss is not my main goal. This goes much deeper than that.

My goals in these 31 days are:

1. To examine my daily eating habits, paying close attention to what I eat and the quality/nutritional value of that food.

2. To examine why I tend toward emotional overeating and what those triggers are.

5. Return to my menu planning roots, thereby spending less and never going hungry. This also helps me to make the healthiest choices possible for me and my family.

That’s it. This is what I want to do. These goals sound so simple and yet each one has layers of emotional crud going back decades, especially the emotional overeating. So it will take time to work my way through all of this.

I’m off to a good start though. At least I feel like I am.

Todays HUGE revelation was to place a decaf Chai Tea bag in a cup of almond milk and microwave it. Instant Chai Tea Latte WHole 30 style. It’s like a slice of pumpkin pie. Perfect for my wicked sweet tooth.

I am learning it’s the simple things that make me the happiest.

I have also started journaling everyday. This is something I used to do before starting this blog but have fallen out of the habit of doing. It’s been helpful as I figure out some of my emotional overeating triggers.

Another thing I did was put MyFitness Pal on my phone at the suggestion of my health coach Katie (Hey Cuz!). It has been helpful to pay attention to calories in and calories out. I also check in with Katie twice a week or whenever I may be struggling. It’s another layer of support.

What is your favorite Whole 30/Whole Food recipe/aid? Any tricks that you have for me? Happy to hear them all.

Comments

Oooh! I'm on My Fitness Pal too! Let's be friends! 🙂 I know what you mean about "easy" goals but with so much attached to them. It took me YEARS to give up pasta, because Pasta was my jam, man. We're Italian, I eat pasta, and I love it. I had it at least twice a week, because it was a cheap way to eat when you're only making food for one person. But now I've cut it out except for special occasions, and some Lenten Fridays. Remember you can eat BACON!!! 🙂 🙂 I find that going through my cookbooks and trying new things that fit my new "food paradigm" really help me out. I also keep a running list of FAST (like under 20 minutes, start to finish) meals that are good for me, so I always have something quick to cook.

You are going to rock this! Even on the hardest days when you want to throw in the towel, you're still gonna rock it. I have full faith and confidence in that. One little tidbit from our whole30….we bought almost nothing organic or locally sourced. It's just not in our budget. We did the best we could with seasonal produce because a lot of times that was more local. And we still both had fantastic results. Obviously, local and organic is best, and it's something we hope to be able to do more of one day. But don't let that be a deterrent if your budget is tight. We did splurge for the Aidell's sausage, and that was the bomb-diggity!

Remember that the crock pot is your friend, especially on busy days! Also, find a way to use leftovers in another meal – unless you're like me and leftovers don't bother you. Finally, butter lettuce makes the best wraps for tacos and the like. It's got a bit of crunch, but doesn't crack when you wrap it around something. 🙂

It sounds like you've thought this out quite well. I think that defining your goals is a good idea, especially for those times when you're tempted to just give up. Knowing that there's a finish line where we can enjoy a taste of a treat that we'd sacrificed is motivating too, even though I know I will be on this weight loss journey for many more months later. Have you discovered the blog, Organize Yourself Skinny (http://www.organizeyourselfskinny.com). She's got some great ideas on meal prep for busy moms.

Praying for your success Mary. And I am sure Courtney is too. You can do this!

Are you allowed vanilla extract, or almond or peppermint? A dash of any of those in a frothy cup of hot almond milk is divine. I almost tricks you into thinking it is sweet, since it has much of the same flavor as so many sweet treats!